WealthTrust Axiom LLC Has $3.61 Million Stake in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC decreased its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,100 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp comprises about 1.2% of WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $3,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 61,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after buying an additional 3,476 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 737,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,551,000 after buying an additional 269,152 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 661,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,805,000 after buying an additional 69,273 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 350,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,102,000 after buying an additional 113,838 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,860,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,413,000 after buying an additional 393,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $34.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,751.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Jude Schramm sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.38, for a total value of $181,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 139,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,072,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO James C. Leonard sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.66, for a total transaction of $971,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 229,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,407,751.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,357 shares of company stock worth $1,693,888. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB traded down $0.42 on Tuesday, hitting $36.58. 1,498,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,329,696. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.41. Fifth Third Bancorp has a one year low of $22.46 and a one year high of $37.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 17.70% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Fifth Third Bank, National Association that engages in the provision of a range of financial products and services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management.